Victoria Mboko may currently have an issue which could hold her back from reaching her true potential.
Mboko enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, climbing from outside the top 300 to the top 20 in the WTA rankings.
This enabled the 19-year-old to win the Newcomer of the Year Award, highlighted by Mboko’s victory at the Canadian Open.
There are now huge expectations for Mboko in 2026, but Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, has suggested that something could be holding the Canadian back.
Brad Gilbert pinpoints the issue Victoria Mboko has which is similar to Coco Gauff
Mboko began her 2026 season at the United Cup, representing Canada alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime.
This saw Mboko win one of her singles matches, before suffering a three-set defeat to Elise Mertens.
After Canada exited the United Cup, Mboko was discussed on The Big T Podcast by both Gilbert and former top 10 player Andrea Petkovic.
There has been a lot of conversation about the troubles Gauff has faced with her serve and forehand, and her former coach Gilbert believes Mboko has the same issue.
“I don’t like her forehand, She’s got exactly the same issue as Coco. Serve and forehand,” said Gilbert.
“She double faults a lot. You know, after she won that tournament in Canada, she literally lost first round, like, six in a row.
Petkovic added, “The thing is, what you said was so interesting, because the one difference between her and Coco is she goes for broke on her first serve. So she’s still ace leader, you know, she has a lot of aces.
“And then sometimes she also has 12 double faults, but at least she sort of balances it out with a lot of free points when she does find her rhythm.”
Who is your favorite player on the WTA Tour right now?
How has Victoria Mboko performed at Grand Slam tournaments?
While Mboko has already won two WTA titles in her career, she is still very inexperienced at the Grand Slam tournaments.
After winning the Canadian Open, Mboko was labelled a Grand Slam contender, but she is still yet to surpass the third round of a major tournament.
Who is your dark horse for the 2026 Australian Open?
Mboko will be a top 20 seed at the Australian Open, but it is actually her first ever time competing at the Melbourne major.
| Grand Slam | Victoria Mboko’s Best Result |
| Australian Open | Has never played |
| French Open | Third Round |
| Wimbledon | Second Round |
| US Open | First Round |
After exiting the United Cup, Mboko is still entered into one more tournament ahead of the Australian Open.
Mboko will make her debut at the Adelaide International, the WTA 500 tournament which is also set to feature Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Mirra Andreeva.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
